Origin

Late Middle English: via Old French and medieval Latin from Greekhierarkhia, from hierarkhēs 'sacred ruler' (see hierarch). The earliest sense was 'system of orders of angels and heavenly beings'; the other senses date from the 17th century.

Derivatives

hierarchic

To think and speak - seriously, one must acknowledge that the structure of the world has a hierarchic nature.

In a hierarchic society, members will necessarily change position and some mechanism must be in place for this to occur.

Furthermore, Scottish Calvinism was not an elite activity, it grew roots in the community quickly, and it nourished an egalitarian spirit that was at odds with what was, in every other respect, a deeply hierarchic society.

hierarchize

The Border also critiques American law but hierarchizes Mexico by advocating emigration to Mexico and espousing a covert rhetoric of Mexican nationalism.

In contrast to Western literature, American Indian literature does not focus on the resolution of the conflict, nor does it revolve around a central character or hero, which would tend to hierarchize events in the literature.

Our feminism recognizes the interconnectedness among race, class, gender, and sexuality and refuses to hierarchize oppression or to fragment identities.